Means for suspending alpha hammock



May 10, 1932. c. F. RICHARDSON- MEANS FOR SUSPENDING A HAMMOCK 2Sheets-Sheet Original Filed Oct. 22 1927 May 10,1932. c. RICHARDSON1,857,607

' MEANS FOR SUSPENDIN G A HAMMOQK Original Filed 061:. 2 2, 192'? zgneets-neex 2 Patented May 10, 1932 i UNITED STATES MEANS nonsusrnivnnve A nA vrMoox 1 Application filed October 22, 1927, Serial No.228,023-, 'nenCwe m a, 1931. f; p

My invention resides in new and useful means for suspending a canvas ora net hammock; and its purpose 1s lZQPIOVldG a portable bed, raised fromthe ground, of small.

compass, light in weight, strong, strung up, or taken down, easily andquickly, of simple structure, durable, and inexpensive to manufacture. i

It is designed primarily for use in the country, by the army, mounted oron foot, trappers, hunters, Voyageurs, boy scouts, trampers and otherswho must travel light, and who, at present, at night have to lie on theground, not because they want to, but because they have to. Sleepingbags, inflatable mattresses, and portable beds are out of the question;they are too heavy in weight, and bulky.

My invention does away with these ObJBC- tions, and providesthe userwith a bed as comfortable as the hammock commonly used on shipboard. v

Broadly stated, my invention requires a single point of suspension,such, for example,

as thaton a suitable limb of a tree; means for holding the hammock inextended position; and means connected to the point of suspension, tohold suspended the extended hammock, free from the ground.

In the diagrammatic drawings illustrating the principles of myinvention, and the best mode now known to me of embodying the same inoperative structure,

Fig. 1 shows a hammock suspended from a tree limb, and'in extendedposition;

Fig. 2 shows the hammock in partially extended position on the ground,before it is rFaised into the operative position shown in h5g3?) showsin enlarged fragmentary detail, the means employed for anchoring thehammock in extended position; and

Fig. 4 shows a method commonly used for adj'ustably shortening orlengthening a stayro e.

Tn describin the various embodiments of my invention, fwill consider,first, that which can be used when the hammock is to hang in a verticalplane, say, at right angles to that of the limb A of a tree B, as shownin Fig. 1.

A canvas hammock 1, Fig. 2, islaid upon the ground, in said plane, itsmid-portion being under the limb. An anchor-cordfl ha-s 1 a snap-hook 3,Figs, 1, 2' and 3,. 011 one end, snapped into a ring 4, on the endof'the-hammock. A corresponding anchor-cord 5: has alike hook. 6 snappedinto the opposite ring .7 of the hammock. These two cords are thendrawn'out their full length on the ground, in line with the hammock, andpassed around folda'ble anchor-stakes 8 and 9, driven into the ground;said cords-"being drawn taut, and

must be raised off the ground-into operative position; and to accomplishthis, the free. end of thetie-rope 11 is passed over the'limb, andpulled down, until the hammock is raised about breast high, when thetie-rop'e'is made fast, as to the tree trunk 'B, Fig. '1'. The hammockhas become'ready for use.

i To take thehammock down, untie the tierope ;the hammock drops to theground, the

tie-ropecoming with it; pull up the. anchor V stakes, and removetherefrom, the dirt, if any; That my 'inventionmay be madeei'nto asmallpack, carefully lay the anchor-ropes, suspending cords andtie-rope,lengthwise of theh'ammock, foldinthelsideis of the ham mock, fold again,lay in" the two anchor stakes, roll or fold the hammock lengthwise,-

and strap into a pack, which, if proper materials have been used-inconstructing the invention, will be about a foot in length, eight inchesin diameter, a and weigh approximately eightpounds. i

' It will'be noted from the previous descripseem comparatively. long.They are so, for the reason that the weight of the user in the hammockis'such that the nearer the line of pull on the stakes is to a rightangle to them tions and the drawings, that the anchor-ropes v 1 Intestimony whereof I hereunto aifix my in the ground, the less is thetendency of the stake to pull out; accordingly, in order to 1mprove theanchorage, I not only make use of long anchor-cords, but also of thefoldable anchor-stake 8, shown particularly in Fig. 3, and devised byme. It is composed of two members, a fluke 30, and a shank 31, pivotedat 32 and shouldered at 33, so that they may become rigid in use, butcollapsible for the purpose of packing. With such an anchorstake, and along anchor-cord, I obtain a substantially horizontal line of pull alongthe cord and the shank, thereby greatly'reducing the tendency of thefluke to leave the ground. An admirable anchorage is thus obtained forthe hammock. 7

'Desiring to protect my invention in the broadest manner legallypossible, what I claim is: 1. A flexible hammock with a ring at eachend; two anchor-cords, one attached to each hammock ring, while the freeend of each cord is adapted to be anchored to the ground; 7

two suspending cords, one cord attachedto each ha-nmiock ring, while thefree ends of the suspending cords are attached to a suspending ring; andmeans for securing said suspending ring to a fixed point of suspensionabove said hammock, for the purpose of suspending said hammock from saidfixed point.

2. A flexible hammock with a ring at each end; two anchor-cords, oneattached to each hammock ring, while the free end of each cord isadapted to be anchored to the ground;

two suspending cords, one cord attachedto each hammock ring, while thefree ends of the suspending cords are attached to a suspending ring; anda tie cord attached to the suspending ring to pass over said point ofsuspension to render and hold taut said anchorcord, suspension cords andhammock.

3. A flexible hammock with a ring at each end; two anchor-cords, oneattached to each hammock ring, while the free end of each cord isadapted to be anchored to the ground; two suspending. cords, one cordattached to each hammock ring, while the free 'ends of the suspendingcords are attached to a suspending ring; a tie cord attached to thesuspendin ring to pass over a point of suspension to render and holdtaut said anchorcords, suspension cords and hammock; .metallic snaphooks being employed to connect said. cords to said rings; and means forvarying the operative lengths of said cords.

signature.

. ;CHARLES F. RICHARDSON.

